A Little Field Trip to See the Creature From the Black Lagoon....

.....ok not really. But close enough, since Stacey and I went to the place where it was filmed (and Tarzan, too). None other than Wakulla Springs. Granted, I haven't been to Wakulla Springs since a field trip in elementary school, so it was great to go visit as an adult. Plus, it was great to spend some time in my native lands and get out of the GA for a little bit. Sadly, the water at Wakulla Springs has gradually become darker and darker, and not the clear blue it once was year round, therefore no glassbottom boat ride. However, the regular boat ride was just as great! Although, for some reason I, of all people, made me some little friends. It really put a damper on my ride, since my personal space/bubble was WAY over-invaded.

Disclaimer: I love children and I know how they can be. Believe me, I do. They are sweet, little curious things, but if I don't know or are related to them, I really don't need them all up in my face. With that said, here is the boat that we took.

And of course, Stacey getting ready for the ride!

If you can tell we are on benches. And of course, on the bench behind me contains two little girls. Who thought I was their new BFF. This girl practically was hanging off my neck. If I turned my head, I could probably kiss her by accident. Um, yeah. Your kid is cute, but how about keeping them off the stranger. Yeah, thanks. So the whole trip, I was having to carry on a conversation with this little girl, all the while, her little sister tapping on my shoulder telling me what to take a picture of. Babysitting was just not what I was in the mood for, but I went with it because I didn't want to hurt the little girl's feelings. Oh well..... NOTE TO SELF: one day you will have a child like that, so don't complain too much. The little girl could be quite comical though. Everything ended with a big sigh, like "ugh, I want to go over there." "Ugh, I already saw a bird, ugh."

We got to see all kinds of good creatures. Everything from egrets, herons, ducks, turtles, alligators, and manatees. I even practically stepped on a snake trying to board the boat ride. Um, yeah. It didn't look like a harmless water snake to me. It looked more like a water mocassin. But what do I know?

Just take a look at these pictures.

That one underwater picture is of a manatee. Turns out they have found the spring and are frequent visitors to it. How exciting!

If you are ever in the Tallahassee area, you should go check this place out. Especially if you have children. They would love it. I know that a lot of people vacation in St. George Island, and its not a bad drive from there either. Maybe an hour and a half, give or take. Wakulla Springs offers a lodge and restaurant.

A little history, first with "Old Joe" the alligator and of course, the Wooly Mammoth that was extracted from the spring. The bones can be seen at the museum in Tallahassee. Think it is the Natural History Museum, but not sure.

And just for fun, here is Stacey pointing at the stuffed bird saying that it will peck your eyes out.

Here we are posing with the sign about Henry the Fish.

Great place, lots to do. Would be great for children in the summer. They have a roped off area where kids can play in the shallow part of the spring.

Tomorrow I will post about the St. Marks Refuge that we also visited.

Wedding Photoshoot Part Deuce

I got some more pictures in from the wedding photoshoot that Joseph and I did. Again, I have to say that it was a lot of fun and we both had a great time. Joseph tries to be all modest. When I first told him about the shoot, he said that he was not good-looking enough to be a model. I told him that was pretty funny coming out of his mouth because about 15 minutes prior to that he was in the bathroom standing in front of the mirror. He then told me that God must have really known what he was doing when he created him, because he was a stud. Modesty? Yeah, Joseph doesn't possess that!

These photographs were taken by Johanna Lakin. You can check her out on her website: http://www.johannalakin.com/. She is a super sweet girl and takes some amazing photos!

So, thanks Johanna for the great pictures.

And because I didn't publish any of Ursula's pictures directly on the blog, let me share some of those as well. (http://www.ursulapagephotography.com/)

Tired of looking at me and Joseph yet? And because you haven't had enough, you can always check out one of my previous posts, to see what we looked like 2.5 years ago at our actual wedding. You will notice, I had a tan, and wasn't as fat! I like how Joseph looks just the same. Men. UH!

Anniversary Post

The Diapered Dachshunds?

As you saw on my last post, I have a slight problem with the wee ones. (get it?) So today, I decided to take action. I'm thinking that if they understand that when they are inside, so should their little pee pees. Hence, no pee pee from the pee pee. So I bought some doggie diapers. It is pretty hilarious. The poor babies had no idea what was coming. Take JR, he refused to move.

Then there is Brutus. The main culprit. He is sitting by their gate, and if you look close you can also see the destruction they caused to their gate. They are major escape artists, so after they chewed through their gate, we had to repair it with coat hangers from the cleaners. Ha ha!

So these Diapered Dapper Darlings are being treated like the babies they are. Granted, the diapers didn't stay on very long because I couldn't stand them acting all weird and sad. Round one won by the puppies!! Anybody else out there have to experience this? Let me know if you have and what you did about it.

Go Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S

What's the equation for going bananas? Let's do the math.

2x

Plus 1x

Plus 3x

Equals= one crazy lady!

Now granted the picture of the couch above isn't tee-tee, it was taken after I had cleaned it. The puppies have learned a new trick, but like most tricks, practice makes perfect and their aim needs some help. But they managed to get a few trickles on the couch. So, I had the best day yesterday. But it did come out and didn't do any permanent damage. Granted I was spitting mad, but I can't stay mad because then they do this:

They come and curl up in your lap, and look so darn cute that you forget that 30 minutes prior you are cussing them out and wishing that you had an electrical fence for them to pee on.

Dear puppies: I appreciate the fact that you like your home enough to care to claim it in the name of Dachshunds everywhere, but let's leave that to the outside perimeter of the house. Thank you. Now I won't have to kill you.

Now on to the good kind of going bananas. Every week, I am a sweet little wife and bake banana bread for my sweetie for him to take to work with him everyday. So when he gets out of the woods, he has a nice little snack on the way home and banana bread is all that he requests, so that's what he gets! I tried a new recipe this time.

It is a recipe that uses cream cheese in the bread. How can you possibly go wrong with cream cheese? You can't. It was super yummy and makes two loaves, which I like. Because with Joseph and his work partner, Gary, they can go through some banana bread in one week. And this recipe makes enough!

Here is the recipe. It is from The All New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. This book is so fabulous. So fabulous in fact, that when I borrowed it from my cousin, Stacey, she never got it back. I had to order another one to give to her because I couldn't part with this book.

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

• 
  
  3/4 cup butter, softened
• 
  
  1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 
  
  2 cups sugar
• 
  
  2 large eggs
• 
  
  3 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
  1/2 tsp baking powder
• 
  
  1/2 tsp baking soda
• 
  
  1/2 tsp salt
• 
  
  3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 
  
  1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 
  
  1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in mashed bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4 inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil the last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing. Yield: 2 loaves.

And because most women like to know what they are eating, I will include the nutritional information.

Per 1/2 inch slice: Calories 221; Fat 11.3g; Protein 3g; Carb 28.1g; Fiber 1.1g; Chol 37mg; Sodium 95mg

So, go bananas! But in a good way, unlike me!!

I'm Not Fat, I'm Just Big Boned

Hey everyone. It's me, Oscar again. Boy am I upset! It all started yesterday morning. I was perfectly happy. I was asleep in the bed when mom came in and got me all excited. She asked if I wanted to go for a ride. Did she even have to ask me that? Of course!! So I jumped up and ran to the door. Mom can be so slow sometimes! We hopped in the car and away we went. The ride was going good at first. We were going in the right direction. I thought that we were going to the park for a little walk and maybe some harrassment of squirrels and ducks. But we turned. Uh-oh. I didn't like where we were going. Then we pulled in. My worst fear was realized. We were at the place where they torture sweet dogs like me, the Vet's office. I was poked and stabbed with metal objects. Then the doctor got on to mom. Ha ha. She's in trouble. No wait. They were talking about me. So what if I weigh 21.6 pounds? I'm big boned. Then I heard the doctor say something strange. What's a diet? No more treats? Exercise? Surely they weren't talking about me. I mean, mom could stand to lose a few pounds herself.  Finally we left. Thank goodness that was over. I hope I never have to go back there again. Yes, I teased the pups when they had to go a few weeks ago due to the unfortunate diamond earring swallowing. I should have kept my mouth shut.

So this morning, I got up, went outside, and came back in ready to eat. I was so looking forward to stealing a few bites of this:

Yum, puppy chow. This is the stuff. So delicious and fatty. But when I got to the bowl, it wasn't there. I saw mom go to the pantry and get a bag of food. It was something I have never seen before. It didn't look like my usual food (Like I ever eat that. I let the puppies eat my food and then sneak in and eat their food. The parentals are none the wiser.) This is what she comes out with.

This can't be good. Weight reduction food? Yuck. And I only get ONE, yes, one cup a day. Are they trying to kill me? Mom put the food down and I tried to be a good soldier.

I choked it on down. I can't believe that the puppies actually wanted to come eat this with me. Are they crazy? But I ate it and even smacked my lips for mom so she wouldn't feel bad.

Enough was enough. That stuff was gross so I went and washed it down with some water.

I see where mom has gotten me some new treats. I will have to take precautions because if they are anything like my new food, they are disguisting.

After the torture this morning, I went to the couch to recover.

Ahhhh.....the couch. My blanket. I was getting ready to do some major snoozing. But like anything, my little buddies wanted in on my prime real estate.

Oh well, they are warm. So I will go with it. That is about it. I am getting tired and need to sleep for about 6 hours. So if you will excuse me, gotta go. Oh- one more thing. If you are able to swing by my house, could you please bring me some bacon? I am starving!!

Wedding Photo Shoot

Ursula got some pictures from our photoshoot posted. You can see them by following this link to her website:

Ursula Page Photography Blog » Ashley + Joseph: 2 Years Later [Thomasville, GA Wedding Photographer]

I thought they turned out great. Granted I could have majorly used a tan, my hair done, and a few less lbs. but all in all, they look great!

We had so much fun doing it and Ursula and all the photographers that were there for the shoot were so wonderful and friendly. If you want to take a look at some of our Christmas card photos that Ursula took back in October, follow this link:

Ursula Page Photography Blog » The Best Reason for Pictures [Thomasville, GA Portrait Photographer]

So if you are in the Thomasville area, and need some fabulous pictures, contact Ursula!!

Exploring Where No Woman Has Gone Before....The Man Cave

This is my gorgeous hubby, Joseph.

He is like most men and needs an escape at the end of the day. He works hard and doesn't get much down time. That is why we converted the guest bedroom into this:

On any given afternoon/evening this is where you will find Joseph. He has a laptop desk at the couch where he can do his work and watch his American Loggers show in peace from me. When he isn't working, he is back there playing his PS3 NCAA 2010 Football game. (of course he is the head coach for none other than UGA and takes it quite seriously. He even has a manly Vera Bradley notebook to keep his stats in!) He has a large 42 inch flat screen, surround sound, and even an extra TV for when he is either watching a game or playing a game, he can have another game going behind him on the extra tv. Men and their toys! It might be a bit much, but he deserves what little space he can have to get away to!

Yesterday, we traveled down to my parents and we got to go to my father's man cave. His "campground" down at the creek.

 

It is new and improved since the last time I posted pictures. He now has......running water!!

   

Joseph, Jack, and I sat down with daddy while he cooked us some lunch.

The boys anxiously awaited for him to finish cooking.

Finally it was time to eat and go back home to enjoy the yummy steaks.

 

After lunch, we took the puppies outside for them to enjoy getting to run around without having to be on a tie out. They really had a blast. They ran and ran and ran. And played and played and played.

That last picture looks pretty intense, but they were just playing around and I just happend to get a good action shot.

Brutus did his part to make sure to drive Jack crazy after we left. Jack will be busy for days trying to reclaim his "territory".

All in all, we had a wonderful day. I'm sure that each man has their own special place that they escape to from us girls. Whether it be inside or out!